Betrayal
by Jerrib
Summary: Steve McGarrett is kidnapped by bank robbers set on revenge.  Danny blames himself and the whole team, including the Governor joins in the search.


Betrayal

Danny Williams pulled his car into the visitor's parking space in front of the large condo building. He turned to the woman sitting next to him. She was a petite blonde with wavy hair and pretty blue eyes. He smiled at her and she returned his smile.

"Thank you again for a wonderful lunch, Dan."

"My pleasure Jill. I've really enjoyed our last few dates." He let the words hang. Third date in one week meant things were moving along. If this had been a dinner instead of a lunch date he would have asked if he could come up. He wasn't too sure of the protocol for lunch dates. He wished he'd had someone he could ask. Maybe Kono would know but there was no way he would ask her that.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't do dinner tonight. I have another obligation. But I'm free tomorrow."

"Tomorrow night then?" Danny quirked his eyebrow at her – hoping his meaning was clear.

"I think that would be lovely. Say 6:30. Since you've taken me out why don't we eat at my place? I can make you my specialty."

"Which is?"

"You'll see," she smiled and leaned forward and kissed him firmly. Danny held her face to his and kissed her back with real passion. When their kiss ended she opened the door and stepped out of his car. She leaned down and smiled again, "Until tomorrow."

Danny grinned back and put the car into reverse. Three weeks of straight work had worn them out and Steve had insisted they all take a four day weekend. He remembered when he'd first seen Jill a week ago. She had been in a bank that had been robbed and hostages were held in the bank. A shoot out had erupted and Steve had shot one of the escaping robbers. The gang had eluded them – going to ground somewhere on the island Danny was sure. Danny had interviewed Jill and given her his card. He was surprised to get a call from her that evening asking him some questions and he offered to meet for coffee. Three dates had followed and he admitted he was smitten. Whistling cheerfully he headed towards home.

The sun was setting and Steve McGarrett was sitting in his bathing suit watching it set from his ocean front garden. After all the years away he'd expected to feel uncomfortable in this place but this house was already home again. He loved to come home after a hard day at work, take a brisk swim then relax with a beer and a sunset. He didn't mind being alone after the week he'd had but he admitted to himself he was just a little lonely. His friend Cath had been deployed somewhere in the Middle East and he hadn't seen or heard from her in months. He realized how narrow his life had become. His military friends were scattered around the world, his family gone for the most part and the only close friends he had on the island were the members of the team. Given the fact they'd been together for almost three weeks straight he really couldn't call them and invite himself into their lives during their time off. He thought for a moment about who else he knew and laughed, he couldn't really call the Governor and ask her to come over for a beer. She was his boss and he couldn't quite picture what she'd say. He thought, not for the first time. that it might be time to look at finding someone new.

As if he'd conjured her he noticed a woman walking down the beach. She was clad in a bright blue bikini which showed off her spectacular curves. He grinned to himself. Wow. He was speculating how to call out to her when suddenly she stumbled and with a yell collapsed on the sand. He was on his feet running straight towards her a moment later.

"Miss, are you ok?" He squatted next to her. She looked up from where she was staring at her foot and her hair parted to show her beautiful face. Full pink lips and sparkling blue eyes made Steve briefly catch his breath.

"I stepped on something," she moved her hand and he saw that her foot was bloodied. "I'll be all right."

"Let me help you. I can take you in my house and clean up your foot for you at least." Steve bent to pick her up and she pulled back looking a little frightened.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Steve McGarrett, I lead the Governor's Task Force on Crime." Steve realized he didn't have his badge in his bathing suit so he took a step back.

"You do look familiar. I think I've met you before," she said softly. "Last week, at the bank robbery."

"Sorry, I don't remember. When I'm working I'm pretty focused." 

"Well I think that's a good thing. I accept your offer of help Mr. McGarrett." She attempted to climb to her feet but Steve simply swept her up into his arms.

"Just call me Steve."

"Just call me Jill."

Once inside Steve set her on the kitchen counter and swung her around so her foot was in the sink. "I hope you don't mind. I want to run some water so you can soak your foot and get any sand out of the wound."

"No problem," she smiled at him. "You have a lovely home." She looked around admiring the open airy house. "Have you lived here long?"

"I grew up here but I just moved back a few months ago. It's taken some time but it feels like home."

"So tidy."

"I'm ex Navy ma'am, run a tight ship."

She giggled then swiftly sucked in her breath when he touched her foot. 

"Sorry. Here let me bandage it. So do you live around here?"

"I'm house sitting for some friends down the beach. They've gone off to Europe for a month. My chance to have my own beach house. I just love swimming at sunset every night."

"Exactly how I feel. There how does that feel?" Steve had carefully dried her foot, applied antiseptic and bandaged it quickly.

"Much better. Thank you." She hesitated for a moment then lifted her face to his and kissed him.

They broke the kiss then kissed again. Soon Steve had swung her into his arms again and carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

Hours later the house was dark and Jill moved swiftly down the stairs. She paused at Steve's cell phone, sitting in its charger. She removed it from the charger and pulled out the battery then returned it to the charger. She made her way to the back door where a man waited. Something changed hands and the door closed again. She returned up the stairs.

Danny woke up when his cell phone began insistently beeping on his bedside table. "Yeah, Williams speaking." 

"Detective Williams this is Mr. Jones of the Governor's office. We've been trying to reach Commander McGarrett but he is not answering his phone. Do you have any way to reach him? If you can please tell him to call the Governor's office immediately. It's urgent." 

"Yes sir." Danny squinted at the clock. 5:30 in the morning on his day off. Figures. "I'll get in touch with him." 

Steve was in the kitchen cooking breakfast when he heard his front door opening. "McGarrett, figures you're up at 6 am. And cooking no less." Danny swept his eyes around the room and noticed the small table was set with two places and there were flowers in the center. "You dog you. Got some company I see."

Steve grinned. "Oh yes. And you need to go." 

"Well if you'd answer your phone I wouldn't have to come over to," Danny's voice trailed off as steps were heard coming down the stairs. First he saw bare legs then the shirt tails of a man's shirt. The look on his face quickly morphed from amusement to horror. "Jill," his voice cracked. He turned to Steve who was standing looking puzzled. "You son of a bitch," Danny pulled back his fist and let fly, catching Steve right in the eye and knocking him down.

Steve slowly climbed to his feet holding his hands out in front of him. Danny caught him unawares but he wasn't taking another punch. He was also completely confused. "What is your problem?" 

"My problem, my problem is you. I quit. Jesus Christ, she's my girl friend. How could you?" With that Danny spun and bolted out the front door.

Steve turned to Jill who'd stood quietly through the whole thing, one hand tucked slightly behind her back. "Do you know what that was all about?"

She put her free hand up to touch his cheek and nodded sadly. "Yes, it was about this." Her other hand swung up and he felt the sharp pinch of a needle in his neck. He pushed her away and immediately staggered knocking over the kitchen table sending the plates, cutlery and flowers flying. He took a few steps. He could hear Danny's engine revving and the car pulling away. He tried to scream Danny's name but instead he collapsed to the ground.

When Steve woke up he had no idea where he was. All he knew was everything hurt. His arms were unfettered and he immediately clutched his stomach and side in pain.

"Looks like he's awake," he heard Jill's voice as hands roughly pulled him to his feet. 

"What's going on?" he mumbled still trying to get control of his limbs. He felt as if he was moving through cotton.

"What's going on Steve is revenge." Jill looked at him with cold eyes. "Last week you killed my husband. This week I'm going to kill you. And to top it off, no one is going to be coming to look for you. I know all about you giving your team the long weekend. No one is going to be looking for you for the next three days. And I don't think your ex-friend Danny is going to be trying too hard to find the man who stole his girl, do you?"

"The bank job?" Steve stared at her. He could tell that he'd been beaten badly while he was unconscious, blood was dripping down his forehead and every part of his body was in pain.

"My husband and our gang. I was the lookout on the inside. Nobody ever suspects a woman of such a thing. You and your friend were so easy to play. He fed me information on the investigation without even knowing. Gave me time to make my plans. Your shot killed my husband. He died slowly and in agony. That's my plan for you. You're going to die alone, in pain and knowing your partner hates you. Let's get going," She approached Steve again and before he could move he saw a needle heading for his arm. A few moments later he slumped unconscious.

Danny drove like a maniac to Five 0 headquarters and parked his car. With great deliberation he headed into the building, heading towards his office with his only intention to get his desk cleaned out as quickly as possible. Then he'd contact HPD about transferring back to his old office. He seethed with fury. He was taken aback when he came through the doors and found Chin and Kono sitting in front of a computer intently staring at some footage.

"What are you two doing here?" Danny asked.

"We finally got that footage from the cameras of the store across from the bank job. We're just taking a look. What are you doing here?"

"I quit," Danny stated bluntly.

"What do you mean you quit?" Chin and Kono exchanged shocked looks.

"I quit. Case closed. I'm gone."

"What did Steve do now?" Chin asked.

"He betrayed me, ok. I show up at his house this morning and who's he making breakfast for? My girlfriend."

"You have a girlfriend?" Kono asked.

"Not anymore. No, I got edged out by Captain America."

"Danny?" Kono asked.

"What?"

"Did Steve know she was your girlfriend?"

Danny started to answer then paused. The cousins watched him intently. "No, but still." He paused again.

"Did she know she was your girlfriend?" Kono asked.

"Yes, she did. I mean we had plans. She said she had to work last night. What the hell is going on?" Danny asked to no one in particular. He felt completely confused. He and Jill were dating. Then she was with Steve. Steve must have met her at the bank robbery. But that didn't make sense, Danny knew he'd worked almost every night, and on the other nights when Danny was out with Jill, Steve was working with Chin or Kono.

"I think you need to go talk to both of them," Kono said calmly. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Danny stared at his feet for a few long moments. Kona and Chin exchanged concerned glances. When Danny looked up his eyes were bleak. "Ok, let's go to Jill's place first. I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to apologize to Steve."

They pulled up in front of the condo building and climbed out of the Camaro. Kono and Danny walked into the lobby and up to the front desk. "Jill Stewart please," Danny said.

The guard stared at them blankly. " There's no one living her with that name."

"Sure there is. I've dropped her off here three times. Jill Stewart. Could you just check your system."

The guard entered the name in search and shook his head , "sorry no one here by that name."

Danny and Kono turned and left. "That makes no sense," Danny said. "Why would she lie to me?"

"Why would she go after both you and Steve?" Kono asked. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this."

When they pulled up to Steve's house Danny sat staring for a minute. "I sucker punched him. He's not going to be happy about that."

Kono nodded. "Do you want me to come in or wait here?"

"Come on in. Maybe he won't kill me if there's a witness." He walked up to Steve's door and knocked tentatively. When no answer came he banged harder. The door slowly swung open. Danny pulled out his gun and nodded to Kono. She pulled her's as well and they entered cautiously. Danny's eye was immediately caught by the overturned table and the mess on the floor. He also noted that the stove was turned off and the food Steve had been cooking was still in the pans.

"I have blood here," Kono was examing the floor.

"What the hell is going on here?" Danny felt like he'd been dropped into some kind of nightmare. A nightmare where he very well might have gotten his friend killed.

The black van pulled up at the edge of the road. The two men climbed out of the front and the woman known as Jill came out of the back. They all scanned carefully then Jill walked to the edge of the road way. The steep hill lead down into dense jungle. Something almost impossible to climb. She nodded with satisfaction. They pulled the unconscious body of Steve McGarrett from the back seat. His hands were now tied in front of him and his feet bound as well.

"Are you sure about this Jill? We could put a bullet between his eyes and be done with it. This feels like one of those Batman plots, where he escapes. Dead is dead."

"No he has to suffer. Alone, abandoned, helpless, that's what I want for the man who killed my husband. Toss him over." 

The two men picked up Steve's limp body and threw him over the edge. The three watched the body hit the ground and begin to roll. They followed It until he disappeared into the deep brush. She looked at the men and said, "Let's go." They climbed into the van and drove away.

A crime scene crew swarmed through the McGarrett house. Danny, Chin and Kono gathered outside to plan their next moves.

"Jill Stewart or whatever she calls herself is the key to this whole thing. Chin – can you go back and check the video from inside and outside the bank that day. Somehow I'm starting to think she was more than just a witness. Pull the best photos of her you can. We need to get them out to all agencies, the airport, the docks, we need to find her." 

"You think she was a look out?"

"Maybe. She was able to keep tabs on our investigation through me. I didn't give her details but on our last date I told her we were taking some time off from the investigation, the trail was cold. So she made her move." 

"But why Steve?" Chin asked.

"The guy Steve shot," Kono chimed in. "What if that was someone important to her? This isn't about the robbery and getting away. This is about revenge." She looked sick. God knows what these people were doing to Steve.

"But why have Danny walk in on them. She must have had one of her partners call Danny and get him to go over to Steve's. We found Steve's phone and the battery was gone so even if you tried to reach him he wouldn't have answered. She must have removed it. Why would she have you come to the house and find them together? It could have all blown up in her face." 

"Maybe she was counting on me walking out. I can tell you I was done with both of them. I was coming back here to clean out my desk. If you two hadn't been in the office I would be home right now trying to get my old job back. No one would have come looking for Steve for a few days and I wasn't going to go looking for Jill. God, I'd even told her one time we couldn't reach him and I had to go over there and someone was sitting on his phone. This makes me sick. I feel like I set him up. I walked out and left him here. He looked so confused. He was defenseless." 

Kono nudged Danny, "Steve is never fully defenseless. I'm sure wherever he is right now he's figuring out a way to escape." 

Steve lay at the bottom of the ravine, bloody and battered and unconscious.

Chin, Danny and Kono stared at the footage from inside the bank. The woman known as Jill Stewart was plainly in view. Chin worked quickly capturing various still images of her to put together a composite. He immediately sent them out with an APB to all local, state and federal agencies on the island. The order included a detain at all costs. He included as much information as possible on the three other bank robbers but they all knew that Jill Stewart would be the key.

Danny ran his hands through his hair and gripped the back of his neck. "I'm going crazy. There's got to be more we can do than this."

"Danny, we don't even know where to start. We have to let the APB do its work. Can you think of anything we should be doing?" Chin's calm settled Danny slightly. He shook his head, staring at the clock on the wall. Where was Steve?

Several hours had passed before Steve began to stir. His eyes opened slowly and all he saw was a blur. He raised his hand to wipe at his eyes but quickly realized that the reason his hands were numb was that they were bound together. He attempted to sit up and found his legs were also bound tightly at the ankles. He blinked several times and his vision slowly cleared. What shocked him most was the absolute stillness of the forest he found himself in. Only bird calls rang out. He strained his ears but couldn't hear any sound of traffic. He attempted a deep breath but the pain in his side cut that short. He rested his head back on the ground and tried to focus on his pulse and breathing, willing himself to be calm and deliberate. When he finally felt relaxed he raised his head to assess his situation.

Jill had said she wanted him to die alone, in pain and friendless. She seemed to have achieved her goal judging from the pounding of his head and the general condition of his body. He could see his torso was covered with large bruised areas and cuts. He tentatively tried another deep breath only to cut it short when the pain tore through him. Broken ribs, cuts, contusions, bruising, possible internal injuries, a concussion, Steve calmly listed his condition in his head. His hands and feet were so numb he just wasn't sure if any of them were broken. His immediate concern was dehydration. As far as he could figure a good 12 hours had passed since he'd last taken any liquids. He knew that a human being could last a good week without water in 90 degree heat but that was someone who was uninjured. In his current state even after one day he would be seriously incapacitated. So his first goal had to be to free himself and get some water, then he would focus on getting out of wherever this place was. Steve forced himself to sit up and began to carefully examine his bound hands. The knot was actually relatively simple. It would just take patience but he believed he would be able to free himself. He had to believe it. No one was going to come to save him, this time he'd have to save himself.

Danny's phone rang and he grabbed it quickly. "Williams. Oh man, you're kidding. Great. Bring them here. Separate cars. Do not let them talk. We'll be set when you get here." 

Kono and Chin were staring. "What is it?"

"They picked up our 3 suspects at the airport, trying to board a flight for LA. They're bringing them in right now." 

"Any word on Steve?" 

"No they immediately clammed up. But not once I get my hands on them." Danny nodded at them both.

"Detective Williams," Danny turned at his name. The Governor stood in the doorway. 

All three detectives rose to their feet. "Ma'am. Yes Ma'am."

"I understand they've found the people who have taken Commander McGarrett." 

"Yes Ma'am. We have to find a way to squeeze them, get them to tell us where Steve is, Ma'am." Danny stammered out.

"We don't have a lot of time Detective. I have a strategy to suggest to you." The three detectives listened as she explained her plan.

Steve finally had to take a rest. He was exhausted, his face pale and sweaty. He felt like he'd been trying to get this knot undone for hours. Darkness had fallen and he felt hopeless. The knot had loosened just a bit and he was careful not to pull his hands apart and retighten it. He shook his head, fighting off the lethargy that seemed to be pulling him down. He wasn't going to quit. Navy Seals did not quit he reminded himself. He sat up again and set to work, his teeth carefully biting at the knot that stood between him and death. Suddenly he felt the knot loosen and he carefully undid the knot with his teeth. Moments later his hands came free. Steve breathed a sigh of relief and began flexing his hands to return the feeling to them so he could undo the knots in the rope binding his feet. He bent forward and suddenly grunted in pain and grabbed his side. He slid mercifully into unconsciousness.

The three suspects had been placed into three separate interview rooms. Danny and the Governor entered the first room. Sitting at the table was Spencer Brewer. From what they had ascertained he was the brother of Jill's husband. He was the youngest of the crew, barely 25. He'd been booked previously on relatively minor crimes. Danny walked in first and pulled out the chair for the Governor.

"Spencer, this is Governor Jameson. She has something to say to you. When she is done you will have one minute to respond. Then the deal is off the table. Do you understand me?" Danny leaned forward and fixed his gaze intently on the young man. Spencer slowly nodded.

"Young man. I am here to make you a one time offer. We will give you immunity from the charge of murder or attempted murder of a police office, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, if you will take us to him. I can do nothing for you on the charge of bank robbery though we may be able to get those charges reduced. If you do not agree to work with us then this offer will be revoked and we will walk next door and make this offer to one of your co-conspirators. Let me advise you, the charge of murder of a police offer is accompanied by a sentence of life in prison. I will make it my personal mission to make sure that you serve that full time in prison and rot in hell forever. I can do that, I'm the Governor. Do you have any questions?" the Governor leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"If I say no?" the young man replied.

"We have your conspirators and we will prosecute you. Now that we know you are the ones there will be no problem finding proof. There will be no bail, there will be no parole. We will come down on you with the wrath of god and the state of Hawaii. You may want to say no in the hopes neither of your friends will turn on you. But life in prison is a long time and I assure you one of you will crack. And when that person does the others are going to go away forever. You're a young man. You could be back on the streets in 5 years if you turn states evidence. We'd protect you and send you to a minimum security prison where you can learn a useful skill. Now, I'm a busy woman so you now have one minute. Starting now." She glanced at her watch and folded her arms.

The young man sat in his chair twitching, his eyes darting around the room. The Governor glanced at her watch again and rose to her feet. "Time's up young man. I feel sorry for you. Come on Danny." She turned to leave the room.

"Wait, wait, please.," The young man grabbed at her only to be slammed back into his chair by Danny. "I'll do it. I'll do it." He shook his head helplessly and burst into tears. The Governor crossed back to the table and sat down gracefully.

"Is Steve McGarrett dead?"

"I don't know. Maybe, I'm not sure." 

"What happened to him." 

With that Spencer began to talk. His words tumbling out of his mouth frantically. How his brother had been killed and Jill's desire for revenge. Steve's kidnapping and beating and being thrown down the ravine. When he finished the Governor turned to Danny and raised her eyebrows. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Show me where he is," was all Danny could say.

Steve regained consciousness again, his unbearable thirst forcing him to open his eyes. He could swear he could hear running water. He couldn't see anything, the darkness in the forest was complete, no moonlight was breaking through the leafy canopy to light his efforts. He forced himself to sit up slowly and bent to the task of untying his feet by feel. In a few minutes he rose unsteadily to his feet and stood swaying. He took his first step only to bend clutching his sides against the pain. He gasped as the stones and twigs on the rainforest floor cut into his naked feet. He listened intently and moved off blindly into the jungle, guided only by the sound of water. He was unsure of how far he walked, stopping constantly to lean against trees and catch his already shallow breath. Over an hour later he came to a small glen, a waterfall tumbling down a hillside into a pool. Steve was so relieved he fell to his knees and plunged his hands into the warm water. He filled his cupped shaking hands with water and raised them to his lips. He drank his fill and rested back on his heels. Suddenly he felt nauseous and leaned forward vomiting into the grass. When he was empty he felt himself blacking out and with a small sigh gave into the darkness.

Chin drove his truck with Kono next to him, Danny and Spencer Brewer in the backseat. Spencer was constantly looking out the window. "Man I just don't know exactly where. It's too dark." 

"Dude, no McGarrett, no life. You got it. Forever behind bars," Danny muttered. He felt sick, it was 3 am, Steve had been out there for over twelve hours according to Spencer. Alone, hurt. It was a nightmare. He turned in his seat and saw the caravan of rescue vehicles behind him. They'd been searching an hour, back and forth on the same stretch of remote road.

"Danny, maybe we need to pull over and wait for the sun to rise. It's 3 hours but we'd have a better chance." Kono hated to say it but their efforts were seemingly fruitless at this point.

"No, we keep looking. Spencer, listen to me. Remember driving up this road. How far did you go? Did you see anything, a tree, a rock, something that would mark the spot."

Spencer scowled and closed his eyes. Suddenly they opened, " There was something. It was like a tiny bit of a turn out. Not a real one but a natural one. So we could pull into it and cross the road. So no cars coming along would hit us. It was right after a bend in the road." 

"Good. Ok Chin, keep looking."

Dawn was breaking when Spencer suddenly began pointing. "There it is, there's the spot." Chin immediately signaled and pulled over. The caravan behind him also pulled in and blocked the road.

"We never would have found this. Oh, thank god." Danny jumped out and bolted across the road to look down into the ravine. Nothing. "Steve," Danny screamed. Silence.

"Ok, we need to get down there and start searching." Chin turned as two officers dragged Spencer forward. "Are you sure this is the place." 

Spencer nodded, turning pale as he saw the expressions on the faces around him. "I'm sorry, so sorry. It was Jill, she was crazy. She just wouldn't stop." Chin nodded and the officers pulled him away.

Chin and Kono put on repelling gear and readied themselves for the descent into the ravine. Danny couldn't believe he wasn't joining them. But sending down the most experienced climbers first made sense. Chin and Kono secured their helmets and began their slow descent, taking their time to scan for any sign of Steve. Soon they had both disappeared from view.

At the bottom of the ravine both disconnected their ropes and removed their helmets and began a quick scan of the area. "Chin, look at this," Kono held up a bloodied piece of rope.

Chin knelt beside her and took the rope and felt it. The blood is still damp. Though it's so humid." 

"Another piece," Kono grabbed it from a short distance away. 

"And more blood here," Chin pointed to some crushed leaves, dark and sticky with blood.

"Steve got himself free," Kono breathed softly.

Chin got out his phone, "Danny, we found the ropes that they tied Steve with. It looks like he got free. We're going to start searching. Can you send down two more men with flashlights and first aid supplies. We aren't sure how far he got or where he's going so we'll need to track him." 

"I'll send for search dogs," Danny replied.

"Good idea." Chin nodded.

A short time later two more men descended. Kono and Chin glanced at each other, Danny's face was white with strain but he joined them quickly. "You didn't think I was just going to sit on my thumbs up there did ya?" 

"No Danny. Let's go. Kono found a footprint heading in this direction. Looks like Steve is barefoot. We need to go slowly, we don't want to miss any signs." With that the four headed into the woods.

Almost an hour later Kono abruptly stopped and tilted her head. "Am I crazy or do I hear water?" 

"Yeah I hear it too." 

"Steve's a Seal. He knows he needs water. I'm sure that's where he'll go." Chin said.

"I've got another bloody footprint here," Kono said. "This way."

The sun was higher in the sky and the tracking became easier as Chin and Kono closely tracked Steve's footsteps. They finally stepped into the tiny glen with the gently flowing waterfall and small pool. There lying next to the pool was Steve McGarrett, face down with one hand floating in the water.

"Steve," Danny rushed to his side wincing as he saw the dark bruises and cuts all over Steve's back. The medic that had accompanied them stilled Danny's hands. 

"Let me check him before we roll him over. Looking at his back he might have a fracture, the wrong move could paralyze him." He felt for a pulse and then nodded. "Slow and thready but he's still with us. Let me put on a neck brace and put him on this board then we'll roll him ok?" 

Danny nodded and pulled out his walkie talkie, asking to be connected to the governor. He described the situation and asked that the Governor dispatch a rescue chopper to their location. They couldn't land but they could send down a basket to get Steve out. No way they could try and walk him out in the condition he was in. A hospital was a priority.

When the medic was ready the four gently turned Steve over. Kono gasped and tears welled up in her eyes. Steve's face was badly bruised with a bloody cut on his forehead. His torso was almost a solid black and blue. The medic continued to examine him, using his stethoscope on his chest and abdomen. He finally put in an IV and opened it up to help rehydrate Steve.

"It's hard to believe he's still alive. But he's with us." Everyone glanced up at that moment as the rescue chopper circled overhead.

Chin, Danny and Kono climbed into their truck feeling exhausted and relieved. The Governor had met the rescue chopper at the hospital as they made their way out of the rainforest and reported Steve was receiving the very best of care from her own physician.

"Hospital?" Chin said.

"Not just yet," Danny replied.

Chin and Kono exchanged glances and nodded. Chin started up the truck and carefully turned around for the long ride back to headquarters.

Jill Brewer had been staring at the four walls of the interview room for hours. She'd seen no one except an officer who brought her a bottle of water and a sandwich at one point. She was cursing herself for not disguising herself before she went to the airport. Hair color, contacts, extra clothes, she would have been home free. She wondered where everyone was. Her partners had been captured with her. She had faith in her brother and her brother in law. Family first. No one would talk. She thought briefly of her husband. They'd buried his body in the forest, with just a stone to mark where his body was. McGarrett's bullet had torn an artery in his leg and he'd bled out slowly and painfully. Obviously Danny Williams was smarter than he appeared, somehow he'd figured out McGarrett was missing. But they didn't have anything on her. She'd been careful to wipe her prints, poured bleach down the drain and in the sink to destroy any DNA her bloody foot may have left. No they had nothing. She was sure of it.

The door popped open and the Five 0 team walked in. Danny sat down in the chair across from hers and smiled at her. Jill found herself repressing a shudder, he looked vaguely wolfish with that smile.

"I assume you've come to let me go. Really Danny, having me arrested for sleeping with a more attractive man is just not a good idea." 

Danny grimaced. Then his wolfish smile reappeared. "Nope, not for sleeping with my friend. You are under arrest for bank robbery, kidnapping, assault and attempted murder." 

When he said attempted her gaze riveted on his face. "Who did I supposedly attempt to murder?"

"Steve McGarrett. He's alive Jill, and his testimony is going to fry you. Of course we didn't really need his testimony. No your brother-in-law told us everything. You are going away for the rest of your life."

Jill's face contorted in rage. "You're lying."

"Nope," Danny rose to his feet. Chin and Kono preceded him out the door. He turned before tugging it closed, "Have a nice day."

Danny, Chin and Kono arrived at the hospital a short while later. All three were asleep on their feet. "Thirty six hours is a long time to be awake," Kono murmured. "I'm going to need a another four day weekend to recover from this one."

Danny got Steve's room number from the front desk and the three headed to the elevator. As they passed the third floor waiting room they were surprised to see the Governor still sitting there surrounded by her staffers. She rose and came to join them.

"What is it? What's the matter?" Danny asked her.

"The doctor's had to perform emergency surgery on Steve. His spleen had ruptured and he had a partial splenectomy. He's in recovery but he still hasn't regained consciousness. The doctor said dehydration, shock, exposure, his injuries, blood loss, it could be any of them or a combination causing this. We can see him as soon as they bring him back to his room."

"Can you live without a spleen?" Danny asked.

"He will be fine, he still has some spleen left. He's got some head trauma, I assume from both the beating and the fall. We can't do much but wait."

"We'll wait," Danny said and sat in one of the soft chairs.

An hour later the doctor returned to the waiting room. He couldn't help but smile at the sleeping group scattered on the couches and chairs. The Governor was asleep, surrounded by her security team who were all struggling to keep their eyes open. The three detectives were asleep on a couch. He could see the exhaustion on their faces. He hesitated then coughed loudly. Everyone jumped at that and the three detectives sprang forward.

"Doctor, how is he?" the Governor stood and came over briskly wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"He's awake. He seems mentally clear but he's completely exhausted. I suggest you each go in and see him briefly, then let him rest. He'll be here several days, we want to keep an eye on his spleen and make sure he's healing well. Don't be shocked when you see him."

"Why Doctor?" Danny asked.

"Let's just say the man has a lot of bandages. If he wasn't in such good shape there is no way he would have survived. He was very lucky, a lesser man would be dead right now."

"Who first?" Kono asked, her eyes on Danny. The Governor and Chin nodded and Chin nudged Danny forward.

Reluctantly Danny followed the doctor down the hall. Now that he knew Steve was going to get better he hesitated to see him. He pushed open the door and entered. Monitors above the bed were beeping softly. Danny sucked his breath in between his teeth. It looked like Steve was bandaged head to toe. A white bandage was wound around his forehead, he had a smaller bandage across his cheek. Both wrists were wrapped in gauze and Danny could see some bandages just peeking out from under the gown. IV's were still in place. What horrified Danny most was the black eye Steve had – in his heart he knew he had delivered that initial blow with his own fist. He could feel himself choking up. Steve's eyes were closed and he appeared to be asleep. Danny turned to go when he heard a soft voice.

"Hey Danno," Danny turned back to see Steve looking at him calmly.

"Hey Steve." The two men simply stared at each other. Danny spoke first, "Steve I'm so so sorry. I just lost my temper. I had no idea…" Steve held up his hand and Danny stopped abruptly.

"Danny, how could you possibly know this was going to happen? I mean seriously who could have expected this? I'm just sorry you thought I'd do something like that to you." Steve's face had a grave stoic look on it. Danny had seen that look before, Steve was protecting himself.

"Steve, I just, I just. You know there's been no one since Rachel. I just guess I got my hopes up."

"Sure. I understand." Steve closed his eyes briefly then opened them again.

"You're tired. The others are waiting to see you. I'll send in the Governor. I'll check in on you tomorrow." Danny felt like he couldn't get out of there fast enough.

"Ok," Steve closed his eyes again.

Danny opened the door and gestured for the Govenor to come in and walked quickly away. Steve's eyes opened and seeing her standing in front of him he attempted to straighten himself in the bed, grimacing.

"Stop, Steve. Good grief. Ever the Seal aren't you. You're trying to come to attention aren't you?"

Steve smiled sheepishly. "Yes Ma'am."

"Well I'm glad to see you're alive. It's a real relief. I'd hate to have to find your replacement, though after his performance today I think your Detective Williams is up for the job. That man has the persistence of a blood hound. He never doubted we'd find you." She looked at him keenly. She'd seen Williams face and Kono had updated her on what had happened.

"He's a good man," Steve agreed.

"And what happened is not his fault." The Governor watched his reaction.

"God no, not his fault at all. If It was anyone's fault," Steve began.

"It was the bank robbers fault Steve. Start to finish. Both of you just fell for a pretty face, as men have done since Hel en of Troy. The good news is you survived her and she'll be going away for a long time."

Steve smiled at her sheepishly. His eyes began to blink and she quickly realized he was struggling to stay awake. "You have two more visitors and I'll tell them to be quick. Next time I see you I will expect you to snap to attention though." With that the Governor bent down and gave Steve a gentle kiss on the cheek. She put on her glasses and left.

Kono and Chin visited Steve very briefly. He thanked them for helping save him and both were just frankly relieved that he was doing ok. "See you tomorrow boss," Chin said on his way out the door. Steve was asleep before the door closed behind them.

The next morning Danny deliberately dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Heck he still had one more day in his vacation. He'd slept poorly the night before, despite having been up for 36 hours straight. He realized that at the core was his guilt for not trusting his partner. They'd been through this before, when Mecca died and then Nick Taylor's betrayal of Steve. Both times Steve had talked of the importance of trust, of faith in other people. Danny had been proven right to trust Mecca and Steve had been wrong to trust Nick Taylor. But now Danny had shown he didn't trust Steve. He hadn't given him a chance to explain. His damn temper. Months of dealing with Rachel and Step Stan had sharpened his temper to a hair trigger. Danny shook his head and stared at the four walls around him. He knew that Steve would be ok and that they'd go back to working together. But he'd seen in those few minutes that Steve had put his walls up again, the ones that were there early in their partnership. It was only recently that Steve had truly started to show his human side. It would kill Danny if that went away. And worse it would kill their team.

A horn beeped outside. He got his gun and other things and headed out the door to where Chin and Kono waited in the truck. He climbed into the backseat next to an enormous floral display and a big bunch of get well balloons.

"Seriously, these are for Steve?" Danny couldn't help but grin.

"And this," Kono waved a small white teddy bear.

"So you are trying to hit every cliché?" 

"You got it Danno. What were you expecting – a tasteful arrangement of ammo?" Kono laughed. She was casually attired in shorts and a t-shirt.

Chin spoke up. "So did you hear Danny, that Jill Brewer killed herself last night?"

"What?" Danny gripped the back of Chin's seat and strained against his seatbelt to lean forward. "Are you kidding? What happened?"

"She hung herself with a sheet in her cell. The matron found her this morning."

Danny leaned back in shock. "Wow."

"Should we tell Steve?"

"I think so. He'll want to know. If he's in a good place then I say we tell him." Danny replied.

When they arrived at the hospital there was a brief moment of panic when they found Steve's room empty. Danny opened the door preparing to shout for the nurse when they heard the distinctive sound of a toilet flushing. When the bathroom door opened all three stared in dismay. Steve was walking like a little old man, shuffling carefully on bandaged feet, bent slightly clutching his side. When he looked at them they all forced fake hearty smiles.

"Steve, you're up. That's great." Chin enthused.

"We brought you flowers and balloons," Kono said, placing them on his bedside table.

Steve made his way to the bed then settled into it very carefully. Kono helped him with the covers and he gave her a terse thanks. Settling against the pillows he let out a sigh. He looked at three of them skeptically. "What?"

Chin and Kono both glanced at Danny. "Steve, Jill Brewer killed herself last night."

"I know, the Governor called me personally to let me know." His face betrayed nothing.

"How are you feeling?" Kono asked to keep the conversation going.

"I'm doing ok. They took the IV's out this morning. I'll get out of here in a few days the doctor says. I think I could go home today but he disagrees." Steve rolled his eyes and shrugged. As he did his breath caught slightly. Movement was still painful. "So tell me everything."

"Everything?" Chin asked.

"Yeah, how did you guys find me? I don't even know where I was," Steve leaned back prepared to hear the tale.

Kono and Chin both turned to Danny. Danny began the tale with how he and Jill had connected and told the story through finding Steve and bringing him to the hospital. When he was finished Steve told them how he'd met Jill and what happened after Danny had left.

"Steve, can I just say again how sorry I am that I punched you," Danny said.

"Hey, you had no idea. Man, were we ever played by those guys. You know the funny thing is I don't even remember meeting her at the crime scene. When she told me we met I was so surprised." Steve rolled his eyes.

"You didn't meet her. I did." Danny sighed. "And if I had remembered that fact it might have saved us a whole lot of trouble."

"Amen," said Chin.

Everyone laughed and Danny felt himself begin to relax. Steve's face had lost that stoic reserved look from the night before. As they were leaving Danny lingered a moment.

"Steve, I just wanted to say again I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I do trust you."

"I know you do Danny," Steve smiled at him.

"Well after what you said last night, I just thought."

"We talked last night?"

"Yeah, here after you came out of surgery. You said you were upset that I'd think you'd do something like that."

Steve shrugged. "That was probably the drugs talking Danny. I was pretty loaded up on painkillers. I know what you walked into – that would be shocking to anyone."

"Yeah, well. Wasn't my first time walking in on a woman with another man. I just reacted."

"Dude, that's rough. You worry too much. I'll be fine. Everything's cool," Steve reached out his hand and Danny shook it. He said goodbye and left.

Two weeks later Steve and Danny were sitting on the wooden beach chairs staring at the ocean and drinking Longboards. Steve was in his swimsuit and Danny was relaxing in jeans and a t-shirt. They could hear Kono and Chin in the kitchen cooking and laughing. Grace was splashing in the ocean and both men were keeping a close eye on her.

Danny glanced at Steve and winced. The black and blue bruising had faded to an odd greenish yellow and the cuts were well on their way to healing. His feet were encased in flip flops, still sensitive when he walked but daily soakings in the ocean water sped the healing process.

"So you're coming back to work on Monday? The doctor really said it's ok?"

"Yes, and I can't wait. I'm going crazy sitting around here." Steve stretched his legs in front of him. This was what he'd been missing two weeks ago. He wasn't feeling lonely anymore.

"Yeah I can imagine, Nothing to do but relax and enjoy this amazing scenery…." Danny's voice trailed off and Steve followed the direction of his friend's gaze. There walking along the beach was a beautiful blonde in a tiny bikini.

"Everybody in the house. Come on Grace. Dinner time," Steve climbed to his feet and hustled Danny and Grace in front of him towards the house.

"What is your problem, McGarrett?" Danny asked over his shoulder, trying to keep his eyes on the woman coming down the beach.

"No problem, and I intend to keep it that way," Steve followed the two of them into the house and slammed the door.

The End


End file.
